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The Next Level In GamingDevil May Cry 4: Special Edition – What We Knowhttp://www.plusxp.com/2015/04/devil-may-cry-4-special-edition-what-we-know/
http://www.plusxp.com/2015/04/devil-may-cry-4-special-edition-what-we-know/#commentsThu, 16 Apr 2015 02:00:54 +0000http://www.plusxp.com/?p=15116

Back in 2013, DmC: Devil May Cry was released. Developed by Ninja Theory this was a reboot of the classic Devil May Cry (DMC) franchise which debuted on the PS2 in 2001. At the time a lot of DMC fans thought this was the death of the original hack and slash franchise.

There was quite a bit of uproar within the DMC community, and now 2 years later it seems as though Capcom have listened. This year we will see the release of Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (DMC4:SE), a re-release of the 2008 game Devil May Cry 4. This game promises a bucket load of new content such as the increased appearance rate of proud souls and red orbs, allowing players to upgrade their characters faster, and the inevitable 60fps 1080p upgrade. So what other new additions can we expect from DMC4:SE?

(Note: A question mark (?) signifies that this hasn’t been confirmed by capcom yet and is opinion and/or rumor)

Story

Unsurprisingly the DMC4:SE story is the same as the original game, centring around Nero and Dante as they battle against each other and the Order of the Sword.

It has been confirmed that Vergil’s storyline will be set prior to DMC3. Does this mean we will get solid confirmation that Vergil is indeed Nero’s father? And will this be set a year before DMC3, giving Dante’s quote “It’s been a year since we last met…” from DMC3 more meaning?

We know that Vergil will be able to play through all of Nero and Dante’s missions, which we can only assume means all of the boss battles as well. Does this mean they will give Dante a young Dante skin for his boss fights? We can only hope!

5 playable characters:

Possibly the biggest thing to come out of DMC4:SE is the addition of 3 more playable characters. As well as Dante and Nero, players will be able to take control of Trish, Lady and everyone’s favourite evil twin brother – Vergil. Here is a run down of each new character.

Vergil

Dante’s brother Vergil was a major fan favourite in DMC 3. They made him playable in DMC3:SE and have given him the same treatment in DMC4:SE. From the outside he looks like pretty much the same as he did in 3. But he has some new tricks up his sleeve.

Play Style

Much to some fans disappointment. Vergil’s Darkslayer fighting style has been removed for DMC4:SE. However as this is an updated version of the character he has been given a brand new Concentration meter which makes his attacks more powerful as the meter fills. Dodging and killing enemies is key as this will fill the concentration bar and give Vergil access to more moves.

Vergil will also come complete with his own Devil Trigger which will enable him to replenish his health meter and give him a boost in attack making his moves even more powerful. Much like his DMC3:SE incarnation, his Devil Trigger will change in appereance depending what weapon he is using at the time.

Weapons

Yamato
His standard weapon, the demonic katana was given to Vergil by his father Sparda.

Force Edge
A sword that originally belonged to The Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, this Devil arm’s full power has yet to be released.

Beowulf
Taken from the light beast which resides in the Devil Worshippers’ tower Temen-ni-gru. This set of Gauntlets and Greaves are perfect for destructive hand to hand combat.

Summoned Swords
Vergil’s answer to a projectile weapon, his summoned swords can also be used as markers for Vergil’s teleport ability as well as dishing out a great deal of damage.

Trish

A character who first appeared in DMC1, Trish was created by Mundus in Dante’s mothers image. Starting off as one of Dante’s enemies she soon allied with the devil hunter and has been a major protagonist in the franchise since. She will be playable in Dante’s missions only.

Play Style?
As Trish was playable in Devil May Cry 2 we can suspect she will be bringing the same sort of play style to DMC4:SE. Based on her DMC2 incarnation Trish could use a mixture of the Sparda sword, her fists, her two pistols Luce & Ombra and a lot of electricity based powers. Trish will be playable in Bloody Palace and Dante’s missions. While we’ve seen her HUD, not a lot has been revealed regarding her specific gameplay mechanics.

Weapons

Sparda

What was once known as the Devil Arm Force Edge, Sparda is a fully awoken weapon that originally belonged to the Legendary Dark Knight with the same name. While Trish has been confirmed to do away with the L2/R2 weapon-switching mechanic, it’s possible she will be able to focus on hand-to-hand combos by planting Sparda in the ground, if Capcom go a similar route to DMC2′s Trish.

Luce & Ombra?

A pair of customised semi-automatic pistols which also belonged to the Legendary Dark Knight. Luce & Ombra bear a close resemblance to Dante’s pistols Ebony and Ivory. These guns were used by Trish in DMC2, so it’s possible they may return in this – unless she does away with them to focus on long range-lightning attacks.

Lady

Daughter to Arkham – the main antagonist in DMC3 – Lady is the only human Devil Hunter in the DMC franchise. She wields Kalina Ann, a rocket launcher named after her mother. Lady will be playable in Bloody Palace and Nero’s missions only.

Play Style?
As this is the first time that Lady has been a playable character in the franchise we can only predict what her play-style will be like, however it has been said that she will feel unique with her projectile-oriented arsenal. Could she incorporate elements of Dante’s Gunslinger style? She does have a “Devil Trigger” like gauge, but given her human nature we will have to wait and see how she uses it.

Weapons

Kalina Ann
A rocket launcher with a bayonet attachement. This rocket launcher was used by Lady and Dante in DMC3 and deals a massive amount of damage when fired. The rocket launcher also has a grappling hook attachment which will help in Nero’s missions, in place of his Devil Bringer.

Pistols, SMGs and Bombs?

Given what we’ve seen of Lady in DMC3, it’s likely that she will have access to her trusty pistols and SMGs, which are rapid fire and probably low damage, as more of a support weapon. Also, her boss battle involved placing proximity bombs, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if she utilises something similar somewhere in her move set.

Game Modes:

Legendary Dark Knight Mode - This mode which was originally only available for the PC version of DMC4. Its best described as a horde mode that floods each mission with hundreds of enemies.

Turbo Mode - This mode will increase the gameplay by 20% for some extremely fast action.

Gods Must Die mode? - A game mode that was created for DmC: Definitive edition. The next step up from Dante Must Die mode. All enemies spawn in Devil Trigger mode and no items are allowed. Whether it will make the transition to DMC4:SE has yet to be confirmed.

Must Style? - A game mode that was created for DmC: Definitive edition. Enemies only take damage at S rank or above, so you need to be Stylish. Could this make the cut here too?

Costumes.

Confirmed

Trish – Gloria costume confirmed as DLC for the collectors edition of DMC4:SE in Japan.

Lady – DMC3 costume confirmed as DLC for the collectors edition of DMC4:SE in Japan.

Unconfirmed?

Vergil- Could we see DMC3:SE’s Corrupt Vergil, Super Vergil and Super Corrupt Vergil costumes make a return? A lot of fans would more than likely love to see Nelo Angelo return as a powerful Devil Trigger.

Dante – Could a young Dante costume make an appearance to fit him into Vergil’s prequel story? Could we also see the Legendary Dark Knight costume back in the mix?

Nero, Trish and Lady – If we see Corrupt Vergil and Legendary Dark Knight costumes for Dante and Vergil. Lady, Trish and Nero would hopefully need an equivalent each, too. Also, presumably we will see “Super” infinite-DT variants for each new fighter, too.

Going on previous games, it’s possible we may also see “Coatless” variants for the three male protagonists.

That’s all we know so far. This post will be updated as more information is confirmed. Whilst we wait for some more info check out the video below showcasing Vergil and Legendary Dark Kight Mode

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition will be coming out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC this summer in the west and in June in Japan.

When Sony first introduced a new scheme called Playstation Plus, my initial reaction was lukewarm to say the least. I didn’t think it was a bad idea, but I also didn’t think it would be the greatest thing ever.

See, long before the PS4 and Xbox One came to rule the roost, online play was free and extra games, to me anyway, were a novelty. So I gave it a miss, but thankfully my Father didn’t. I consequently benefitted from his year-long membership and got access to all his free games every month. Winning!

Playstation Plus slowly rose in my books, but I still wasn’t convinced. I would get to play lots of free PS3 games that I’d never played before AND kept downloading Vita games in the event that I one day got one. But would I have paid money for games that I’d never play? Debatable.

Fast-forward time and we arrive at the launch of the PS4. Sony had been generous enough in the past to make online play free, but financially it would make sense to gain that extra bit of revenue. So I needed my own Plus membership dagnabbit.
I shelled out the notes and got my honorary 12-month pass to the great game giveaway. Now I can admit, the main reason I wanted PS+ was so that I could play online, communicate with friends and frustrate the hell out of kids who end up calling me a hacker etc. However, Sony started to open my eyes past the big games.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a gamer who sticks to the AAA games that even begrudging parents have heard of. I like a game no matter how low-budget, how well-received and how many characters in the game that destroy poop (I’ll explain later).

Right from the get go, Resogun was free for the month of November along with Contrast, and what a contrast!

Contrast was a unique, albeit very flawed, puzzle game that, when it wasn’t hurling game-breaking glitches in my face, created an interesting experience. A year and a half later and Resogun is still one of the best games I’ve played on the PS4. From the makers of the successful Super Stardust games, which positively rocked the PS3, Resogun obliterated my graphical expectations for ‘next-gen’ titles. I don’t think my jaw was closed or my tongue wasn’t wagging furiously like a dog for the entire time I played it.
But this tasty golden nugget was just a precursor of things to come.

The less talked about feature gets lots amongst the free stuff; it’s the discounts! My god the discounts.

NOPE. I was an idiot. But thanks to the PS+ discount, I managed to buy the game for £1.99 instead of £7.99. So it’s not all bad I guess.
Hotline Miami has shot, stabbed and danced its way to near the top of my favourite games ever. It’s testament to the indie scene that you don’t need big budgets and well-known developers to produce something fantastic. It’s merely subjective of course, but if you go and check Metacritic to see the reception for the game then you’ll understand.

As the months are going by, the wealth of quality games are just piling up to the point of being absurd. Sony have had a good relationship with Indie developers for a few years now. Showcasing talent like this can only be good for gaming. So I take notice of all games that come out now.

If I didn’t, I’d keep doing what I was doing before and ignoring games that are better than the expensive titles I buy.

Velocity 2x is a bright, fast-paced, explosive ride of a game. It’s nicely charged with rocket fuel and adrenaline to run in parallel with the strategic thinking needed to ace this game. 50 levels of challenging brilliance. Best thing about it? It was free.

Rogue Legacy. What. A. Game. An endlessly random experience every time you play as the big castle you’re in changes its layout, enemy placement, and item placement with each playthrough. It’s a tantalisingly tough but fun experience, especially if you’re trying to beat all of the bosses. Tons of upgrades, a new ancestor each time and loot make Rogue legacy unmissable. Best thing about it? It was free.

Without Playstation Plus, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth would be an undiscovered star. The one that got away. Lost in the shuffle forever to be made to wander alone in the abyss of obscurity. If I’d never have played this game, then my life would have been wasted. Earlier in my article, I made mention of characters destroying poop. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is that very game.

Now….I don’t want to write too much about the game as I could produce an article the length of a Hollywood screenplay on how good it is. I’ll say this, indie games are so underrated. People play them, but not enough. TBOI: R has so much longevity and replayability that it’s quite frankly humbling. Being a Roguelike game, it randomly generates a new game in its dungeon-crawler gameplay. One disgusting, foul and depraved enemy after another with a whole host of twisted ‘upgrades make this game endlessly playable. Isaac’s Mom, Satan, Isaac himself are just some of the bosses in this game that if I tried to describe alien he’d probably say “You see? This is why we don’t talk to you.”
I’ve not even told you the best about TBOI: R. It was free. FREE.

I honestly feel spoiled by the content we get at times. That’s not me trying to metaphorically shove myself as far as I can up Sony’s backside, it’s just an expression of my gratitude towards their offerings.

It’s no secret that Microsoft realised Sony had something with the giving away of free games. Sony started with WipeOut and Zen Pinball way back in 2010. Whereas it took “Games With Gold’ a whopping 3 years to become a thing. I question why it took so long for Microsoft to reward their fan base but hey, I won’t judge, at least they’re getting them now which is good.

But in waiting so long, they have had some catching up to do. For example, Bioshock: Infinite and Tomb Raider were very recently released as free games for Gold. Now it’s absolutely great for Xbox users who have never played them before, I’d just feel a little aggrieved that Sony gamers got these games 12-18 months ago. It’s all because Microsoft is lagging behind.

It’s not completely the case though, Rayman Legends, for the Xbox One, was also released alongside Tomb Raider and Bioshock: Infinite. This is fantastic! It shows that Microsoft are trying to make it up to their fans which is very commendable.

All-in-all it’s great for the gaming community. Whether you’ve played the free games or not, there are some damn good games being handed out to enjoy; across multiple platforms too. As someone who has a PS3, PS4 and PS Vita I get to benefit from the full package every month. Tomorrow will see the release of the PS Vita’s best shooter, Killzone: Mercenary, which is a huge bonus.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though. Driveclub. It was pushed as Sony’s first exclusive driving game for the PS4 with a heavy emphasis on togetherness and delivering a top driving rush. The game was released to an ok reception. From ‘gorgeous’ and ‘stunning’ to ‘boring’ and ‘limited’, Driveclub has had a variety of responses. But with continual updates and patches it seems to be up-to-par now and delivering on its early promise.

Now originally this racing mammoth was supposed to be crashing into a month of Playstation Plus for free. FOR FREE I TELL YOU. It would be a more lite version featuring less cars and tracks but still very Driveclub. But something went horrifically wrong, not quite nuclear reactor explosion wrong, but still wrong.

The horrid D word impeded our free Driveclub. Not duck, the word is delay. It was announced that it would be delayed, and delayed, and delayed again. I’m now starting to doubt if the PS+ version will ever see the light of day. Lite of day would’ve been so much funnier, alas I’m too lazy to press backspace.

It’s not the end of the world though. Its one game and we’re still getting lots of other games instead. Evident by the consecutive AAA releases. Injustice: Gods Among Us in December and inFamous: First Light in January.

Playstation Plus took a few years to get going in my eyes, but now its gravitational pull is unrelenting. I can feel it pulling me towards the free games and free themes and free everything. It’s become an amazing investment and worth every single one of those 3,999 pence a year.

As you may already know I am a huge Dragon ball fan and have an extensive collection of games, with the last one being Dragon ball: Battle of Z which was a major disappointment. I then heard that there was a plan to create a new game which was meant to be so much better than the last one, that being said I was interested in the new title for one reason and that was the mysteriouse unknown character with red hair. After finding out that this was a user created character and that you could create your own fighter, I immediately preordered my copy of the Dragon ball Xenoverse some nine months before the release date and was really looking forward to getting my game on.

Normally in Dragon ball games play along the storyline of the Z series which has had it’s fair share of mistakes and disappointments. However Dragon ball Xenoverse has found a way to completely bypass the Z universe story by using time travel. The story goes like this, Future Trunks who travelled in time during the Android and Cell Saga has been tasked to help maintain the passage of time by the Supreme Kai of Time. Since he was the very first one to split time into different time lines the Supreme Kai of Time thought he would atone for this to ensure no one else does the same, so he calls fourth Shenron and asks him for a warrior strong enough to help him.

This is all taking place in a completely separate world known as the city of Toki Toki and unlike any Dragon ball game I have played in a while, it has free roaming around this city. You have three areas to explore and quite a few people to talk to, there are also shops for you to not only buy items but clothing and even skills which you can use to help build your fighter.

This is where things start getting interesting, you are the one summoned by Shenron and this is where the fun begins. This is also where the game starts being its own and unlike any other Dragon ball game, a new warrior is called fourth and this is where you create your own fighter. You have five different races to choose from and they are Human, Saiyan, Namekian, Buu’s race and Freiza’s race. Now the Human, Saiyan and Buu races all have both a choice of male or female characters but the Namekian and Freiza races only have the one body type. I’m not sure why this is since we have a female Buu body type but maybe it’s because they have no females and are asexual creatures. After choosing your race you get to augment your fighters face and body hight and size, there are quite a few different features available but not much when comparing to games like Skyrim. After you picked your look you can change the colour of your outfit, you then pick your name and voice and voila you have your very own fighter. I will say that I have seen some amazing things done with this character creation system, using their names and characters to have an awesome impact. For example someone made the Staypufft Marshmallow man from the Buu body type and even one that looked like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat out of the Namekian body type. Though there may not be a vast number of choices compared to games like Skyrim, you still have a huge amount of variety to make a unique character that only you could possible think of.

During the game you will pick up items of clothing and unlock them too in the clothing shop along side accessories that you can use to change what you character is wearing, and fundamentally change what they look like. Also as this is a completely brand new character you start off with low stats. As you increase your level you get boost points, these points allow you to increase a particular statistic you wish you improve. Each race has its strengths and weaknesses which as you get stronger you can choose to improve. This gives you as a player far more control over what you want to make stronger and what type of fighter you want to be. As well as stat building you can also build up and awesome move set. You get to pick your Super attacks and even your Ultimate attacks too, this is from a list of moves you earn during the completion of levels. The customisation you can do in this game is rather impressive and to be honest even more than I had even anticipated, the amount you can do truly gives you the ability to make your ideal fighter and fighting style.

With all of that being said there is just one more thing about the character building that I need to mention. As you get further into the game you are able to unlock masters, now these masters get to teach you some of their moves and even comment when you complete or fail at a level. Now as you probably guessed it yes the masters are mainly Z fighters with a few exceptions, you have to beat them in a fight in order for them to accept you as an student which is to be expected. They will test your skill to teach you a new move but they are a great way to obtain powerful moves and to improve your own skill, you can switch masters at any point if you find a better one so you can be taught by almost any master. (even Goku who requires you have a level of 70 before he is willing to accept you). The masters pop up randomly so you don’t know who or when you will see one but once you see one be sure to learn from them as it is another great way of building your fighter up.

Now as I mentioned just a moment ago you earn moves during levels but they aren’t always story levels, you see Dragon ball Xenoverse has separate but connected side quests which are referred to as Parallel Quests. The way they work is that they are quests that are not connected to the main story but are unlocked when you have completed a main quests. That means you complete a particular level you get a Parallel Quest based on that saga. Some of them require you to find people and talk to them, for example after you defeated Raditz you can unlock a quest to fight on his side. However after defeating the Ginyu Force you need to talk to Guldo to be able to play the Parallel Quest he offers which is retaking the Ginyu Force entry exam. Each quest has items, accessories and even moves that you can obtain from them but only by completing them in a certain way. Each one of these fights has a couple of hidden objectives that you need to do if you wish to get a higher ranking or to receive a good item. You even unlock new fighters and new costumes for members of the Z fighters if you complete certain levels. Another example is a level where you fight mini Buu’s, once completed you can have the mini Buu as a fighter. These Parallel Quest can be played both offline and with other players via the Xenoverse server as well if that’s what you prefer to do.

There is also an battle mode too where you have the option to fight offline or online, you pick what kind of fight you would like I.e 1v1-2v2-3v3, and the same applies for online as well as offline. As you guessed offline you pick all the fighters while online whoever you are fighting gets to pick who they are using, its a very simple and effective battle mode and there isn’t much else I can say about it really. You also have a local battle mode which allows you to fight someone right next to you which is one serious problem Battle of Z had, in addition to that you also have a World Martial Arts Tournament which pits you against other players Tournament style. However all this requires you to be connected to the Xenoverse server and that’s a bit of a problem, you can choose to play a single mode where with NPC’s but you can also choose to go to the lobby with human controlled players. Now I have had quite a few issues with getting connected to the server, in fact for the first four days after I bought Dragon ball Xenoverse I couldn’t even connect to the server and could only play in the single player mode. During my playtime in battle mode I have noticed that he server keeps going down or there is always an issue with it, now this could purely be me but I was told by another player that they couldn’t connect to the server either. The reason I am mentioning this is that every single time I have gone to enter the tournament it tells me it isn’t ready yet and that I need to connect to the server which I already am connected too, this again might just be me but this is something that has been bugging me.

With this being a Next Gen game the graphics are pretty impressive, they have the looks of a current generation console game but they still have the classic Dragon ball look. The areas that you fight in are amazingly designed and just like the places in the series, also the characters have a slight animated look that really sets them apart. You can really tell the graphics are good when creating your fighter, you can see all the details you are adding. In addition when you are changing clothes you have collected you get quite a few versions of the Gi that comes from each fighter and saga, despite there being only a few changes made to differentiate each Z fighter you can clearly see even the smallest change to an outfit and the same goes for your surroundings when you are walking around Toki Toki. During the game you get to have little animated cutscenes as well as one with the same game graphics, the animated sequences are perfect to the way they look and sound exactly like a Dragon ball episode. The same goes for the ones with the game graphic sequences apart from that with those scenes you need to press a button to continue the conversation. Other than that the graphics are very well done and they still look slightly animated but with the next gen touch, this gives the game an amazing look without diminishing the style of the game or the look of the Dragon ball universe.

Then we have the background music and sound effects which have a staple when it comes to any Dragon ball game, especially when you start the game off with Head-Cha-la which is if you are a fan you know is the song the series started with (that’s the Japanese intro). The addition of the free roaming gave a very nice uplifting music and the music in general was very well written and placed during not only the levels but the cut scenes too. Showed dramatic tension when you had a bad situation and nice uplifting music when all was well, this for a Dragon ball isn’t usually easy as most of the time the score from the series is used, This game however has an entirely new set of music and it works really well, so does the sound effects and voice acting. Every character sounds like they should and even the sounds of the attacks sound just like they did on the series, this again like the music gives this game a nice feel and also makes it seem like an extension to the actual Dragon ball story.

As mentioned earlier the game’s story is based around your custom character who is trying to keep the changes in the timeline from being made, so this entire gameplay has been designed to work a lot differently from previouse Dragon ball games. I will just say right from the start that you can use the characters you unlock along the way to complete Parallel Quests but you will spent majority of your time with your created fighter. Each race has their very own style of fighting This means the fighting is tailor made depending on the race and by all accounts works really well, the style of gameplay changes when you play different races and this means that you have a replay factor by trying to master a huge combo with a new race. The fighting itself no matter what race you are is pretty smooth and when you have learnt how to fight with your guy/gal you can string huge combos together. This can make fights seem easier, but all it really means is that you have practised enough or your stat increase has given you an advantage. You can also do vanishing which as sorely missed in Battle of Z, this is where you can vanish and go behind the your opponent, but with this game it all depends on your stamina bar. It takes two bars of stamina to do a vanish meaning you have to conserve your stamina, this for me means that I need to be more forward thinking when either in battle or when improving stats.

You can fight multiple fighters at the same time and they can attack you from any angle, this can become frustrating when you are on a level where it is two or three against one and you are in the middle of an attack only to get hit from behind or by a Ki blast. This is usually what I would expect from a three on one fight so that’s not the frustrating bit. when three attack you at the same time and you cannot stop them as the hits just keep on coming that is when it does get frustrating. It can also be frustrating when you are being punched by one and hit by an Super or Ultimate attack while they are hitting you, then they keep going and you are hit again by a huge attack which pretty much beats you before you can do anything. Becuase of this I have been defeated by a few Parallel Quests and it has become annoying that no matter how powerful I make my fighter he isn’t strong enough to defeat these quests. The Super move list is vast and well executed with each move looking and feeling like the series, however if you were to attempt a Kamehameha if you were hit before you released the attack it would stop. This means that a simple Ki blast can stop you from firing off a Super attack at your enemy, there are a handful of moves that cannot be stopped but you receive damage when you are hit while attempting an attack. Then you have the Ultimate move list which is pretty big too but there’s something completely new with them. If you are a member of the Saiyan race and just so happen to picked up the ability to turn Super Saiyan, this would be in the Ultimate attack list and not a super like the Kaioken attack is, when you turn Super Saiyan you can use your other Ultimate attack more than once, the amount of time depends on your Ki bar so the more you have the more you can fire that attack.

The story takes a twist on the series and makes it more enjoyable to play, with the background music and sound effect working well with the graphics and game content. The controls are easy and the game is fun to play, the character customisation is something that has really surprised me and is something that makes this game so good. However the game isn’t without fault and the biggest thing for me is the Xenoverse server having so many issues (which may have been solved by the time of publishing). The multi-player battles where you pretty much get your butt kicked no matter how well you play are really frustrating. The game as a whole is very good and despite what I say this is a game I would recommend to play if you are Dragon ball fan or even if you are not.

Back in the late 90′s/early 00′s extreme sport games were at the hight of popularity. I like many gamers out there spent hours trying to nail the perfect tricks on games such as Matt Hoffman’s BMX and Tony Hawks Pro Skater.

Since then games such as this have seemed to have dropped off the planet. True we had a pretty decent SSX game in 2012 but it didn’t have some of the magic the original extreme sports games had. Now in 2015 Curve Digital plan to bring this magic back to our home consoles with OlliOlli.

Much like your conventional skate boarding game. OlliOlli’s main focus is for the player to achieve high trick combinations by pulling off as many tricks as possible. What makes OlliOlli different however is the fact that it is a 2D side scrolling game.
Each level has a basic goal of getting to the finish line in once peice, but much like a lot of 2D mobile games such as Jetpack Joyride or Extreme Road Trip there are a bunch of optional goals to achieve to get a better level completion. This makes the game super addictive as you try to nail the perfect trick combo or grind for the right amount of time to unlock these goals.

More often than not you will find your 2D avatar face planting the pavement as pulling off tricks is quite a hard skill to master. Tricks are executed by holding down the the left stick before a jump and then quickly releasing and then moving the left stick in a certain direction to perform a trick, you then have to make sure you press the A button as you land to land safely. It is as complicated as it sounds and you will more than likely find yourself getting pretty frustrated. Grinding is not as bad as you only have to hold down on the left stick as you land on a rail, but you will find yourself getting quite confused trying to execute tricks between rail grinds. It is a shame as this game would of benefited from simple button presses for trick execution lessening the very steep learning curve.

The game visually looks very retro as the visuals rely heavily on pixel graphics. In turn this gives OlliOlli a very retro feel which will appeal to a lot of gamer from the 80′s/90′s generations. More often than not nostalgia hit me like a brick to the face as I was reminded of the visual style of Streets of Rage combined with the gameplay of Tony Hawk. It was almost as if Skate from Streets Of Rage 2 had hung up his Rollerblades and got his own skateboarding game.

Pros:+ Great Visual Style+ Good Replay Value

Cons:- Steep Learning Curve- Unnecessarily complicated controls

60 / 100

All in all OlliOlli is a solid skateboard side scroller with a good dose of replay value which encourages you to achieve higher. The steep learning curve however can leave you quite frustrated, unless you do like eating tarmac on a regular basis.

If you have a successful franchise that revolves around one man and his sniper rifles, then what is the next logical step for additional content? Yep, if you said zombies then you are correct.

However, I’m guessing it’s one of the last things that most of you would have said. Nevertheless, Nazi Army Trilogy celebrates its zombie-themed downloadable content (DLC) by re-imagining it in 1080p whilst running it at 60 frames-per-second.

The game features the two DLC packs from Sniper Elite V2 and a completely new one created to serve as the conclusion. In total, you get fifteen missions to do across three episodes as you try to overthrow Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Army menace in World War Two. Also throw in a routine horde mode and you’ve got yourself a tasty looking package here, but does it taste as good as it looks?
Let’s find out.

Firstly, unlike the previous Sniper Elite games, this one is centred on the relentless killing of zombies. Hitler has realised that Germany are on the precipice here, the war is seemingly lost. Cue the most brilliant military tactical manoeuvre in history as he unleashes his contingency plan…NAZI ZOMBIES.

You find yourself escaping Berlin, returning there and eventually trying to find a way to stop Hitler’s flesh-eating army. Story wise that’s your lot, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t the type of game that is trying to breaking new ground in terms of an award-winning narrative. The game is more of an excuse for zombification elimination.

It’s no secret that a leading first-person shooter franchise popularised the idea of Nazi Zombies, hell; they brought zombies into the gaming mainstream once more as everyone followed suit. This game is no exception, you pick one of 8 main characters, with no notable differences, as you battle waves of zombies, powering your way through train stations, underground lairs and even castle fortresses.

Now the game looks great. The 60 FPS run as smoothly as you like and even when the screen is flooded with the enemy the graphics remain like a carpenter’s blade, sharp and precise.

This helps the player to move well albeit a bit clunky. Turning on your axis is difficult, especially when sprinting, and some of the animations are a bit dodgy. When you’re in the midst of a strenuous battle with the undead, the last thing you want is a delayed grenade-throwing animation!

Speaking of the undead, the game does feature a variety of enemies to keep things feeling a bit fresher. The only problem is that the majority of the newly-introduced enemies are scaled-up enemies that take a hell of a lot more effort to bring down than normal undead enemies.

They come in the form of Nazi zombies, skeletons, snipers and suicide grenadiers. These are the dastardly creatures you’ll encounter the most throughout the levels. Nazis require headshots (otherwise you risk them resurrecting), skeletons need heart shots (it makes sense, trust me), snipers are standard (but can fly to another perch) and suicide grenadiers need to be quickly put down at all costs!
How about the rest? Nazi Elites are big ass Nazis that require about 12-14 headshots to die and can be heard with their ground shaking footsteps. Chainsaw Elites……yeah I think you can guess.

There are plenty of enemy types but there’s far too many of the same three or four of them. Sniper battles are the most fun enemies to fight as it can be challenging just trying to find them as they ghost to a new location to hunt you down. It’s a nice role reversal for you and a welcome juxtaposition between them and predictable Nazi zombies.

But in general, the enemy behaviour and A.I is just downright predictable and boring. The zombies and skeletons just aimlessly dawdle towards you like most people would lust after fruit and vegetables. I want my zombies to be lesser in numbers and to be in the mind-set of chasing cake. I’ve also noticed a subtle difference in zombie animations; the game encourages headshots to put down enemies straight away and re-send them to the grave. So one zombie may have very little head movement and another will lean with every footstep to just make it that bit tougher for you.

But in general, they act very similar and it’s not much of a challenge. Suicide grenadiers will run at full-speed towards you, even the almighty Elites just soak up bullets as they walk slowly towards you. It becomes easy to anticipate and with the space some levels offer, you can slowly backpedal whilst picking off enemies.

It’s not much fun, speaking of which, I sadly move towards the gameplay. The Sniper Elite gameplay of the past can sometimes be an acquired taste. It’s methodical, strategic and either rewards/punishes the player for its decisions.

Nazi Zombie Trilogy is just a different game altogether. It isn’t Sniper Elite. The strategy goes out of the window with this game and if you choose to be methodical then you choose to be a zombie’s chew toy. I was also sad that I couldn’t really savour and appreciate the glorious slow-motion x-ray kills that the series has become accustomed to. I love this feature, but when I’m facing nearly 100 zombies in the space of 5-10 minutes, I’d rather just skip the fancy theatrics and continue my momentum of zombie-slayer extraordinaire.

I guess the reason that “Sniper” isn’t featured in the title of the game is because this isn’t really a sniper game anymore. There is a greater emphasis on up-close and personal encounters. The game still tries to retain its identity as most of the episodes feature big levels with lots of space to move around in and snipe. But there are countless times when my sub-weapons were used a hell of a lot more than my sniper rifle.

On the other hand, you’ll notice lots of corridors and narrow spaces where the use of machine guns, pistols and shotguns are required. All of these weapons are available from the get-go, the entire armoury is available to you to choose from and there’s a healthy arsenal to choose from.

My preferred combination was the Gewehr 43, Blyskawica and Webley MK. VI. I used these same three weapons throughout the entire game as they fitted my play style the best. Someone else will probably have three very differing weapons in order to accompany their play style. That’s the beauty of the load out, apart from a couple of hidden weapons in the game, you can try and get to grips with different weapons to see which best fits you.

Funnily enough I found the melee kick to be one of the better weapons in the game. One kick sends an enemy to the ground for a try, then you follow it up with a decapitating kick for the conversion. When you have a small number of enemies in the vicinity, it’s better to conserve ammo by utilising a couple of stiff debilitating kicks which can also affect multiple enemies. Note to readers: avoid less in the last few levels, all will be explained.

The actual sniping in the game is fun as hell! Thanks in part to the combo system, I always wanted to see how many headshots in a row I could achieve. The combo system rewards you for not missing your target by giving you higher scores with every hit and kill.

The inhaling of breath to steady you aim is also retained from the Sniper Elite games and becomes more of a necessity in this game, especially when a family of Jack Skellington wannabes are wanting to make a xylophone out of your ribcage. As for the level design, structure, mission objectives etc, it goes downhill from here.

The repetition in this game cannot be stressed enough. I got my experience underway in a creepy looking town with empty farm fields and obvious desolation. Things were good. I then encountered a few zombies and promptly nullified their threat. Cool. Then another area quickly initiated another barrage of zombie hell. Combos are cool and headshots are fun……*cue another zombie section*…….ok, this is starting to get a bit boring, but I’m sure it’ll pick up, I thought to myself.

Fifteen levels later and I am drained and kind of relieved it’s over. Every level is the same. It’s in the style of an old-school first-person shooter in that it’s clear out one room, move onto the next one and clear that. Only, these are seismic rooms with their own populations. Once you do so, you reach a safe house to stock up on the hundreds of bullets and grenades you used to clear the last section. After that, you’ve passed GO and you go to collect 200 more zombie scalps. The formula stays consistent at least, every now and again you might get a turret section or sniper duel but that’s it.

Initially the combat is fun, but once it sank in that that is all it consisted of, my heart sank lower than Leonardo’s body in the Titanic. Rebellion valiantly try to cover up these frailties by making you perform different objectives in-between, but they are sadly few and far between. “Find these pieces, pull this switch”. They are sugar-coating the monotony of these tasks by jazzing them up. I did think it was commendable that they found about 10-15 ways of saying ‘kill these zombies’.

“Lay the dead to rest” “Exorcise the demons” “Survive the onslaught”

A bit of light-hearted humour wouldn’t have been out of place, a good ol’ “KILL THE ZOMBIE SCUM” would make the suffering more sufferable.

At the end of the day, the objectives for each mission are very basic in the A-to-B formula. It’s such a shame considering that there is plenty of good stuff in this game, I have already mentioned the enemies. The summoners are a pain in the arse, they’re very similar to the Arch Vile in the DOOM games. Fire demons also freshen things up a bit.

But bosses…this was a chance gone begging.

Early on you’re introduced to the Occult General, an interesting boss. But after him what do you get? Eventually another Occult General or two and the end of game boss. A bit disappointing considering the scope for imagination is enhanced with zombies.

But boss grievances aside, my pet hate of difficulty spikes is on display here. From about level 13 onwards, bigger and badder battles that stretch the realms of what is considered fair were continuously thrown at me.

A room with 100 hundred normal Nazis, 2x Nazi Elites, a summoner and skeletons was not uncommon. It just became horribly unfair towards the end. I understand the effect it’s trying to have of course. It’s the end of the game, all of Hitler’s forces stand in your way and you are powering through them all. But it’s unnecessary. It’s where I think new bosses would be better served to make the challenge more bearable.

I found that in the later levels, I wasn’t even using my sniper rifle anymore as I was using the melee kick and machine gun wherever possible to deal with the large increase of threats. When your main weapon becomes more of a burden, is that not concerning?

Speaking of bosses…..THE FINAL BOSS IS HORRIBLE. What fourth dimension of hell created such difficulty? The tightness of your surroundings, the incessant waves of enemies, the strength of those enemies whilst avoiding the wrath of the biggest enemy of them all!

See, for all my complaints, the game shone in other areas. Nazi Zombie Trilogy perfectly created a dangerous and atmospheric environment. Lots of fog, eerie voices and religious iconography illustrate the world you’re in. Even the little touches are great. If left unattended for a few minutes, your controller will speak to you in an ominous voice saying things like “play with me”. I don’t know about you, but I find that disturbing, but a good kind of disturbing.

In terms of overall length and content in the game: the fifteen levels can take anywhere between 20-45 minutes each, there are gold bars to find and bottles to shoot in every level and there is also a horde mode too.

Horde mode is a standard wave based game mode similar to the ones seen in Gears of War and even the survival mode in the Call of Duty. There are five different levels to choose from with each offering a different layout and different pattern of enemies appearing. As you get further into the waves, the challenge increases with tougher enemies being thrown into the mix.

Pros:+ Tense and varied environments+ Gameplay is fun to an extent e.g headshots, combos etc+ Good selection of weapons+ Varied enemies in the later levels

Cons:- Very repetitive gameplay- Lack of any real variety in the gameplay- Stiff controls- Extreme difficulty in later levels- Boring, predictable A.I

60 / 100

Nazi Zombie Army Trilogy is a game that’s stifled by a lack of imagination. As a whole, you get your money’s worth with the game: lots of levels, collectibles and the horde mode. But in doing so you’re subjected to tedious gameplay that constantly repeats itself with little variety. The design of the levels is usually interesting as you’ll always feel that you’re submerged in zombie Berlin. There aren’t too many bad points with the game, it’s just that the bad points are crucial. With more refined gunplay and interesting missions this could have been a really good game. Instead it feels like more of a chore instead of immortalising itself in gaming folklore.

Hot off the heels of The Order: 1886 being released; the question of morality in gaming has once again reared its ugly head. Sequels, tie-ins, DLC etc. There are so many things for people to complain about nowadays that I’ve just realised I’m complaining about complaining.

For now, I’ll delve into the hot topic of longevity in a game. The Order’s length is being scrutinised for being a mere 5-6 hours. To be clear, I HAVE NOT PLAYED THE: ORDER 1886. Well, not the full game at least. So I will not be biased, for or against the game.
Once again…..I…HAVE……NOT………PLAYED……THE ORDER: 1886.

So let’s break this down. The hours you can get out of a game are completely subjective. Yet many arguments are bereft of objectivity about a game’s length. Why? Because sometimes there is no objectivity when it comes to a games length. It comes down to: preference, dedication, commitment, and the feeling of pretty much getting your money’s worth. These are key factors in determining how much you get out of a game.

The Order is single-player only. Ready at Dawn wanted to ‘establish the franchise’ first before creating the multiplayer component that will inevitably be seen in the sequel. That’s great! I prefer games that emphasise their campaign and try to build on the fundamental basics of gameplay and storytelling.It seems that since the PS3/Xbox 360 came along it’s become mandatory that you have to have multiplayer, even if it’s worse than death itself. Call of Juarez and Bioshock 2 always spring to mind.

The pain of Bioshock 2′s multiplayer

One of my personal highlights from 2014 was Wolfenstein: The New Order. The old-school makers of shooters have reinvented their franchise and made it feel fresh and fun. But do you know what else made Wolfenstein awesome? It’s 12+ hour campaign that took us through castles, prisons, torture camps, cities and always entertained. I’ve played many first-person shooters (FPS) and been very dissatisfied with their meagre 4-6 hour offering. I mean when you’ve got people paying £40-50 upfront for a game that lasts slightly longer than some films, you have to ask, is it worth it?

A point, raised by Ready at Dawn founder Ru Weerasuriya, was that “it’s a matter of quality, not quantity”. Is it? That’s a subjective statement with little substance behind it. It again comes down to what the gamer prefers. I don’t think he can quite speak for all the millions of gamers out there.

I myself have no fixed preference. I love most games. I will happily play an indie game that can be completed in only a few hours. The original Portal, Limbo, and Brothers are examples of this. On the other end of the scale, my heart yearns for levelling up, the monotonous chore of killing the same enemies over and over just to upgrade a weapon or armour…BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT. I’ve sank hours into The Elder Scrolls games, The Fallout franchise, Far Cry, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy etc. I just never get over the feeling of strapping myself into my seat and preparing myself to feast on a delicious gaming banquet just dripping with XP and smoky barbeque customisable characters. Man I do love to feast, always chomping at the 8-bit….game over?

The Elderscrolls V Skyrim: Loads of game play and of course, Dragons!

As long as you enjoy the game, then it shouldn’t really matter how the long game is as you’ll enjoy it regardless. Blind loyalty can leave you to become a casualty of wanting a game. Even Duke Nukem fans may try to repress the game but, Duke Nukem Forever is an example of a game that people bought out of loyalty to the franchise. I think it’s fair to say that it was a game devoid of quality, but had some, and I use it in its loosest sense, quantity (the Hive level does not exist in my mind).

I don’t find blind loyalty to be a bad thing, I bought Haze for the PS3 just because the media and I had hyped it to death. Was it crap? Absolutely. Did I enjoy it? Surprisingly I did. Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes is just about the most perfect example I can think of. If you know anything about me, then you’ll know that I love Metal Gear Solid. I did write a 4,000 word about the beautiful franchise after all. Ground Zeroes is basically a prologue to the upcoming and highly-anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. It is probably going to be the last proper Metal Gear Solid game and it wraps up the last remnants of Big Boss’s story. It is my most looked forward to game and so I just had to buy Ground Zeroes! My god, the fun, the creativity and the FREEEEEDOM. I could just feel the Mel Gibson bubbling up inside of me as I remember that I wasn’t constrained by restraints in Ground Zeroes. However, the bulk of Ground Zeroes is one main mission that, on my first playthrough, took me about an hour and a half to complete.

You see this is where perception meets reality. One guy does a speed run of it in less than 10 minutes and everyone loses their minds. As soon as word got round that you could complete the main mission in less than 10 minutes, the internet exploded into hate and vilification towards Hideo and his game. “It’s a glorified tech demo”, “We have to pay for this?” Ermmmm the last time I checked, no one was forced to buy a game. If you don’t want to part with money to play it then don’t. Now if people look at the flip side and actually did their research, you’d see that value is there in the game; not to mention the fact that the costs half the price of a normal game. Including the main mission, the additional bonus missions, the challenge to achieve top ratings in each mission and all the unlockables; no one should really complain about the content on offer. I easily got about 10-12 hours out of this game for £25. I feel that’s value for my money.

Now let’s put that into context for a second, I’ve read opinion pieces and MANY comments from people saying they don’t want to pay £40-50 for 4-6 hours. That’s completely and utterly fair. So this is once again where I bring the matter of subjectivity up when it comes to a games length. Already I’ve covered dedication and commitment to buying your favourite/most-looked forward to games, and certainly getting your money’s worth. Haze was a typical FPS that didn’t last long, I found enjoyment in it but couldn’t justify what I’d paid for it. The Order is either trying to cover up for its flaws by saying quality over quantity, or Ready at Dawn realise they may have cocked up on this one. In either case, the game has been number one in several gaming charts and is obviously doing well; despite its mediocre reviews.

If the game comes down to quality, then it still doesn’t seem to quite deliver. The game itself looks absolutely stunning. The visual direction is that of a film, the lighting and cinematic styling really emphasises the visuals and storytelling. On the other hand, letting the gameplay take a backseat to the orchestrated action isn’t usually what people want. Granted, this is coming from someone who hasn’t played the game so I won’t be overly critical, but I did more than enough research before I wrote this. The Order isn’t the first and damn sure won’t be the last game to break up its game with unplayable cutscenes.

Metal Gear Solid is infamous for spewing out its masterful writing via cutscenes. Metal Gear Solid 4 currently holds 2 world records: one for having the longest cutscene in a game at 27 minutes! The other is for the ending which is the longest cutscene sequence in history at an even more astonishing 71 minutes!! It takes the length of some films just to finish off the story of the game. Remarkable. Final Fantasy being another game that is culpable for using too many cutscenes to keep its action jogging along. In any case, cutscenes are an ever-present in any game with a half-decent story and there’s nothing with The Order using them. The only problem is that Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy games are not known for being short. The excessive amount of cutscenes aside, there is a lot of gameplay to be had in the games. When The Order is barely pushing 6 hours, some of which are accounted for with quick-time events and cutscenes, then you have to sit back and wonder for a second, when did this become acceptable?

I have to throw my two cents in here and say that, it isn’t acceptable. Now I’m no game-maker and I would be able to create game coding as well as I can cook, but when you have a full company working on an exclusive top AAA title, you expect a bit more. Also, I can’t cook. The game seems to be of the similar nature to an Uncharted or God of War. Even though both are completely opposing genres, they’re actually very similar if you look at them. They are both story-driven, linear games with cinematic set-pieces and combat sequences. Apart from the main characters ranging from a treasure hunting hunk to a god-slaying brute; the games themselves have similar qualities. The Order is more akin to Uncharted really and as someone who has played all the Uncharted games, I’ve never completed one of the games (first-time round anyway) in less than 9 or 10 hours.

I’m absolutely all for new games, new IP’s joining the ever-expanding world of video games, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. The Order is not the only game to be very short without multiplayer or something extra. But it needed exactly that, something extra. All of the Call of Duty and Battlefield games have notoriously short and usually uneventful campaigns. But Call of Duty has Zombies, Spec-Ops, Survival Mode and/or competitive multiplayer to sustain its life force.

I’m just hoping that when the sequel to The Order: 1886 arrives in the next 2 or 3 years, it’ll be a fuller experience with a more fleshed out campaign. Even throw a half-decent multiplayer and it’ll be received much better. I just hope that other companies don’t follow the way of The Order and release shorter games. It won’t be long before we have 2 hour games with 1 hour and 58 minutes of it being cutscenes!

- Andy

]]>http://www.plusxp.com/2015/03/longevity-subjectivity-and-other-tales/feed/0Titan Attacks 3D Review: Alien Invasion Incominghttp://www.plusxp.com/2015/03/titan-attacks-3d-review-alien-invasion-incoming/
http://www.plusxp.com/2015/03/titan-attacks-3d-review-alien-invasion-incoming/#commentsThu, 05 Mar 2015 02:00:10 +0000http://www.plusxp.com/?p=15004Space Invaders, one of the few games ever created that when you mention its very name a huge amounts of nostalgia builds up for a lot of old school gamers and nerds. It is in essence the very first game that got a generation of children hooked on gaming. So when Puppy Games released Titan Attacks, a more modern take on the classic on the granddaddy of all games, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a shot.

My first encounter with this game was on the Playstation 4 at an event showcasing the latest games being published by Curve Digital last year, I even had a chance to play it at home on my own console with the full game content available. This time however I have been given a copy of Titan Attacks for the Nintendo 3DS and a chance to see what it is like on a smaller screen.

The story is very simple and keeps with the original Space Invaders concept of aliens attacking Earth and humans defending it with a space ships, simple but effective. However Titan Attacks brings a little twist, as you are not just defending Earth but other planets like the Moon and even Mars. These are locations you unlock later in the game which is a nice touch as earth can look a bit boring after a while.

The graphics for the planets, aliens and even your craft are done in what looks and feels like a classic 8bit style, blocks and spheres to represent the aliens ships and lines for your laser fire. However on closer inspection the graphics are pretty good for what they are trying to achieve, there are a lot of dark colours but the sprites are well designed enough so that they stand out from the shadows.

For what they were looking to do PuppyGames have done a good job on the graphics for Titan Attacks but as the screen is pretty small on my original 3DS it was a little harder to see what is happening without shoving the screen in my face. On a 3DS XL it would be fine but with the original console it is a bit on the small side, other than that the graphics are as good as they need to be.

The background music and sound effects are okay if I am to be blunt, the music repeats depending what planet you are playing on, so each level on that planet has the same background track. This sounds pretty standard but the background music can get quite loud even when the volume is lowered, it can block out the sound effects some times which isn’t great.The sound effects however couldn’t be any better! They add depth to Titan Attacks. They also add good dose of Space Invaders nostalgia to the mix which appealed to me greatly.

Titan Attacks brings some new features to the retro Space Invaders mechanic. The first being that you get money from defeating aliens and completing levels. The money you earn can be spent on upgrading things like your shield, extra bullets and smart bombs. Money can also be used for ship upgrades such as more lasers, gun power upgrades and gun recharge which helps speed up the gap between shots . Each upgrade gets more expensive the higher it goes so learning when to save and when to spend becomes very important.

The second new feature is boss battles, after you have blasted your way through all other ships a mothership drops out of the sky and attacks you. Each mothership will attack you with multiple turrets and bombs so you need to dodge multiple bullets and explosions, when you finally defeat the boss you can move onto the next planet.

The controls are very simple and really easy to master. You use the analogy stick to move and the A button to shoot with the B button used for activating the smart bomb. The game runs smoothly and without any kind of problems with button lag or control issues, with Titan Attacks being such a simplistic game it makes it difficult to come out with any faults in the gameplay. It is fun and frustrating to play at the same time and whenever I completed a level I got a great sense of satisfaction.Pros:+ Fun to play+ Easy to play+ Challenging+ Addictive

Titan Attacks is a fun and addictive game. With the simple controls and gameplay style it is pretty easy to get into. The only thing that lets this game down is that background music being to loud and sound effects being not loud enough, other than that this is a game I would recommend to play if you want to pass some time with some nostalgia.

Monster hunting has appealed to gamers ever since the classic Capcom franchise, Monster Hunter, came to PlayStation 2 consoles all the way back in 2004. With that in mind, Turtle Rock Studios has taken the concept and introduced their own multiplayer spin to monster hunting with Evolve – A 4 vs 1 multiplayer game that pits four humans against one monster in an all out battle to the death!

In Evolve, nature is wiping out the human colonies on a far distant planet called Shear. A team of Hunters are assembled to help the human evacuation and save these colonies from the native monsters that live on the planet. It is a simple nature fighting back story line which loosely explains why these hunters and monsters are fighting each other – however, Evolve’s main focus is on the gameplay.

The 4 v 1 game dynamic works well here, as a team of four hunters has to take on a massive monster in a fight to the death. The hunters have to think tactically in order to take the beast down, while the Monster has to be quick on it’s feet as it has to feed to get stronger and eventually Evolve.

There are two stages of evolution for each monster, and with each evolution you get to spend skill points to make your attacks stronger. Each monster has four primary attacks and these can be buffed up depending on your style of game play. For example, the Goliath has charge attack, fire breath. Rock throw and leaping smash. If you prefer to attack your enemies from a distance you may prefer to upgrade your leaping smash and rock throw attacks. Or if you are like me and like to go in for some close quarters combat, then the fire breath and charge attacks are probably more for you. These attacks can be mixed and matched and I found that the leaping smash and charge attacks worked better for me, so the choice is up to you.

The hunters are a little more varied as each team member has his/her own class and weapons. You can choose from four classes in total which are Medic, Support, Trapper or Assault, and each are vital for taking out the monster. The assault class is the heavy hitter of the team and it’s their responsibility to deal massive damage to the monster. Markov, the first assault class character you have access to, has a lightning gun which can only deal damage when he is up close – luckily he has a re-chargeable shield which lets him get into close quarters combat with the beast.

Markov can be aided by Hank, the support class who comes with a shield buffer weapon which can top up Markov’s Shields. Add Val the Medic into the mix and you have a someone who can keep everyone’s health topped up. Then, Maggie the Trapper completes the team, who can encase the monster in a mobile arena and pin it down with harpoons. As well as these abilities and weapons, each team member also comes with an offensive weapon to deal some damage to the monster and a jet pack for quick mobility and monster dodging.

Once you have mastered each of the characters weapons, you are able to unlock a new character in that class. Mastering weapons is pretty straight forward, all you need to do is use the weapons; the more you use them, the more XP you get, which in turn gives you mastery over the character. Once each weapon is maxed out a new character is unlocked with different weapons. This applies for the monsters as well and gives Evolve some great re-playability as you grind your way to unlocking the next character in your favorite class or indeed the next monster.

Even though the main objective is kill or be killed, Evolve does come with four different game modes that vary up the game play slightly, first of which is Hunt mode which is a straight forward 4 v 1 death match. Next is Nest mode where the hunters have to destroy monster eggs around the map before the monster hatches them and kills the Hunters, then you have Rescue which has the hunters saving NPCs, and Defend where the hunters have to defend a fuel station from monster destruction. The game mode that steals the show however is Hunt mode as its simple objective allows players to utilise all of their abilities to the max, which sadly makes the other game modes feel like an afterthought as they can limit each characters abilities. For example it’s all well and good for the trapper having a mobile arena trap, but in the Defend game mode the last thing you want to do is trap the monster in close quarters with a bunch of NPC’s you are trying to save.

First and foremost Evolve is a multiplayer game and has been advertised that way since day one. It can support solo play with bots should you want to level up your characters by yourself, which feels a lot like Unreal Tournament. This is a nice edition which could of easily been fleshed out more with a story based campaign mode. The game doesn’t support local split screen multiplayer, which could have been a great addition as you could have had 4 player split screen with an AI monster, for example. This in turn would of made the game more accessible for people who have a poor net connection.

Pros:+ Great gameplay Mechanics+ Good mix of characters and classes+ Monsters feel powerful and scaryCons:- Lack of solo campaign- No local multiplayer- Additional game modes feel like an after thought

75 / 100

As a multiplayer game Evolve is great fun, the mechanics are well executed and it really encourages you to think tactically as both a Hunter or a Monster. It’s just a shame that it is so heavily focused on online multiplayer, and not much else.

At this years EGX there was a huge range of games showcased for every games console, with the expo a great chance to show off the best of the latest releases for the next gen. One of the many games that was being shown off was Evolve, a game that definitely peaked my interest. This game had very little information about it available (not for lack of looking) so when the opportunity to play it came up I jumped at the chance. The queue was huge, and had a minimum wait of two hours when I first tried. On the next day it was the first on my list, and despite running there I still waited almost two hours to play it. The wait however, was far and beyond worth it.

The playable demo was as a five player game, where four are the hunters and the fifth is the monster itself. This was the first time I had heard of this concept within a game like this. The demo I played had two different monsters available and four different troops. The troops were a trapper, medic, support and assault, with each of these skill sets supporting the other in the attempt to kill the monster on the field. The monsters themselves were the Goliath and Kracken.

We were shown a little video explaining the game and then broken into two teams of five. As you can guess, I choose to play as the monster. I was sat away from the rest of the team and chose the Kracken as this was a tactical creature. Now the concept behind this is genius, as the four people have to work as a team to track and find the monster, using each individual units special skills to find and destroy the other player. Meanwhile as the monster all I had to do was kill smaller creatures and eat them, so that at the right point I could evolve to the next stage. The highest evolution level was three, and through this process I would gain what I needed to be able to survive being attacked.

The graphics were just stunning and as the monster once you get a grasp on the controls it was so easy too play as well. Add that with the detailed sound effects and creature noises, to me this game did not really have any faults. With that all being said I must brag that I evolved to the final stage and killed all of the people hunting me, which is only one way of winning.

Evolve is by far one of the most unique concepts I have come across in a long time. With being also told that they will soon have a lot more different troops and monsters available, this game is looking pretty impressive. There is one thing that is bugging me about Evolve and its that this looks like it is a five player only game. Would this mean that you would have to play online and against friends or strangers? I guess that will be answered when the game is released.

-Random Man 5000

]]>http://www.plusxp.com/2014/10/egx-2014-evolve-preview/feed/0Until Dawn : EGX Previewhttp://www.plusxp.com/2014/10/until-dawn-egx-preview/
http://www.plusxp.com/2014/10/until-dawn-egx-preview/#commentsWed, 29 Oct 2014 02:00:41 +0000http://www.plusxp.com/?p=14899With Halloween lurking just around the corner, it seems like a good time to take a look at take a look at the new survival horror game from Supermassive Games, Until Dawn.

Until Dawn follows the story of 8 friends and their fight to survive a night trapped on a remote mountain. When one of your group goes missing, you and your friends must discover the secrets of the past in order to make it out alive. Playing as each of the 8 characters you must explore your surroundings, find clues and make difficult choices in order to survive the horrors within. In this playable section of the game, we were tasked with exploring a dark basement in search of our lost friend Sam (played by Haden Panetttiere).

Descending into the gloom of the basement it is clear from the start that this game knows a thing or two about creating an atmosphere. From the offset you are left to explore this dank, dark and dripping basement with nothing but a torch and a can do attitude. With suspicious possible paranormal activity looming in the darkness, you have no choice but to probe every corner of this classic horror set in order to find clues to your friends fate and escape. The characters talk throughout, narrating the story in a way that can’t help but add a bucket full of unease to our already shaky nerves.

As would be expected from any self-respecting down right creepy horror game, one of your key survival tools is the torch. The torch is controlled using the motion capabilities of the PS4 controller to tilt and direct the light in order to explore dark corners and find clues that might aid your survival. Guiding the light in this way really gives the impression that you are actually peering around those dark and ominous corners, drawing us further into the environment and making the impending feeling of dread all the more real.

The tilt and touch pad functions of the controller can also be used to examine found objects, making them feel much closer to your hands and somehow more disturbing as a result. In the short section we played we found objects including a suspiciously cheery diary, a very sinister dolls house and of course a shattered dolls head which just happened to be full of bugs. nice.

Until Dawn works on a butterfly cause and effect system, wherein your actions determine later events within the story. This system includes both practical choices, such as where to go, as well as moral choices like the decision to abandon a friend rather than fight for them. This system means that choices you make during the game really do matter, as the survival of any member of your party is not guaranteed. In short, you know that annoying friend you put up with for politeness sake but deep down can’t stand? Well if you can survive long enough this game might just give you the chance to kill her.

In true horror style there are some quite jumpy moments within this game, making it definitely not for the faint hearted. At one such moment involving a locked door and a lurking ghost (possibly?) the player next to me physically dropped his controller and jumped back from the screen a pace or two. The thing is, the way this game is built I totally didn’t blame him. Of course for risk of spoilers I won’t say much about the overall storyline, however from what we witnessed at the expo it had a kind of ‘Saw’ meets ‘I know what you did last summer’ vibe. As with all good horrors, I will let your imagination do the rest.